Happily Ever After
by Bumblebee
Summary: Could be considered Romance also... Ron dies... the effects of his death on a certain person... Please Read/Review!


A/N: Hello. I am writing this in a fit of insanity: I know I need to finish "Illusions of the Mind", but I can't inspire myself to start… For all you loyal "Illusions" fans, there will probably be two more parts, and then an epilogue to tie up loose ends. Anyway, I came up with this story, and couldn't get it out of my head!

Disclaimer: None of the characters mentioned in this story belong to me. I only own the narrator's (I'm not telling who it is! Read on…) daughter. The other characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

Happily Ever After

"And so, they beautiful princess and the handsome prince lived happily ever after." I looked over at my six-year-old daughter, Megan. "There now, I've read you a story. It's time for you to go to bed."

"Aw, Mommy, I'm not tired!"

"Megan," I said, suddenly stern. "You really must go to sleep." 

"Mommy, can I just ask you one question?"

"All right, one question. But only one, and then you have to go to sleep."

"Mommy, if Daddy was still alive, would we live happily ever after?"

I became speechless, stunned by the random aspect of the question. "Well, Megan, what do you think?"

"I think yes, okay, Mommy? Am I right?"

"Yes, Megan, If you think so."

"Okay." Megan smiled sweetly. "Goodnight, Mommy."

"Goodnight, Megan. Sweet dreams."

I tiptoed out of the room, Megan's words echoing in my head. "Mommy, if Daddy was still alive…"

I shook my head, momentarily angry with my daughter for forcing such thoughts into my head.

I knew why Ron was gone. The forces that powered the world, whatever they were, couldn't tolerate perfection. And we would have lived happily ever after, I know it. Only happily ever after doesn't last… for long.

*

Ron and I went to Hogwarts together, not that that changes anything. Sure, we didn't get off to a great start, but we were eventually really great friends. We did everything together, from listening to convicted criminals to cheering on our other best friend, Harry, at Quidditch games.

I think Harry was a bit jealous when Ron and I started "going out", since we were always together, and he was left out more than once. If he was jealous at all, he got over it quickly. He was the first person to find out that we were engaged, and he was really happy for us, or so he said.

And then, about a year after we were married, and about a month after Megan was born, Voldemort struck. I'm not afraid of the name anymore, I'm more frightened by the person. Maybe because I've seen the horrors that he can commit, maybe just because I've grown up. I don't know. 

Anyway, Voldemort came back, stronger than ever. He came to our little house, and he killed Ron. To this day, none of us in the wizarding community can decipher the logic that Voldemort used. Maybe he wanted to use Ron as bait to get to Harry, who was his longtime nemesis. I don't know if that's what he thought, but if it was, the plan worked. Harry went after Voldemort the next day. 

He defeated him of course, but that didn't matter to me. Ron was gone, and that's all I could think about. We were meant to be, like two halves of a whole. I didn't think I could live without him.

I went through a time when I was incredibly depressed. So depressed, in fact, that Megan spent a few weeks with her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry. She was so little though, that it didn't matter. During that time, nothing mattered to me. Not even my daughter.

Slowly, I got over my depression and took Megan back. Ginny and Harry were happy that I had stopped being depressed, as any normal people were. 

But I wasn't going to forget about Ron. We would have been happy, well, as happy as we could be. I wish, well, I wish for a lot of things. I wish Megan could have known her father. I wish I could be a better mother to Megan. I wish Voldemort had never been born. I wish… I wish Ron were still alive. But wishes aren't reality, and they never will be. So all I can do is to be Hermione… Hermione- without Ron. And I just have to be the best person I can be without him. But, I know, in my heart, that if he were still here… we would have lived happily ever after.

A/N: Please, please review! If you want to contact me, send an e-mail to [bee824@yahoo.com][1]. I'd really appreciate it! Thanks for reading!

"Happily Ever After"

© 2000 Bumblebee 

   [1]: mailto:bee824@yahoo.com



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